Unboxing: Guildhall

Released at Spiel 2012 – at a push because of customs delaying the delivery of the games – Guildhall, from AEG, has been very well received and, with a short play time and simple rules, was very promising from the start.

This is what the the description of the game says:

Progress! That’s what these Dark Ages need, someone with a little get-up-and-go. You’ve been a serf in this one-pig town long enough, and it’s time to shake things up. You’ve opened a guildhall for like-minded professionals from all over Europe to work together, build their trades, and get some economic stability.

Now if only everybody else didn’t have the same idea…

Well, you’ll just have to do it faster than those other guys! Gather professionals into chapters, and use their combined might to reach for victory. Collect complete color sets of professions (all five colors of Trader, for instance), which you use to buy victory points (VP). The first player to gain 20 VP on her turn wins.

In Guildhall, each profession grants you special abilities, and these abilities grow stronger the more of the set that you complete. When you cash in the set for victory points, however, you lose the ability until you can build it up again. Which professions are worth risking VP to keep?

So was the wait from customs worth it? Are the contents of this box worth the money you pay to get your hands on it?